This proposal for a cooperative agreement will establish collaborative partnerships between the UNC-Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies (UNC-ARC) and NCCU-BBRI faculty. The program administrators of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism will be involved in steering the program. These partnerships were developed to perfectly fit the long-range goal of the Collaborative Minority Alcohol Research Center Development (CMARCD) Program. That is to strengthen the alcohol research capacity of minority serving institutions. These collaborations are structured to integrate research between laboratories leading to common collaborative discoveries, with the overall objective to strengthen alcohol research programs at both institutions. This proposal represents a true collaborative effort between NCCU and UNC faculty with both groups contributing significant effort and being essential to the success of this CMARCD Program to conduct research on the Mechanisms of Alcohol Pathology (MAP). The MAP-Administrative Core (MAP-AC) is responsible for the overall implementation, management, coordination and support of the jointly developed research components (Figure 1), as well as coordination with the UNC-ARC's Administrative Core. The objective is to ensure a cohesive seamless administration of the overall partnership. This cohesiveness is essential to the fulfillment of the partnership's goals and objectives. The overall coordination, planning and evaluation of the partnership will be through the Steering Committee (SC). The SC will advise the MAP-AC on implementation, coordination and management of the cooperative agreement program. The administrative core of this cooperative agreement is organized to manage, direct and coordinate research, training and outreach-education activities. The Administrative core will provide leadership for the conduct of competitive alcohol research at NCCU in collaboration with UNC-ARC. The administrative core will support the Co-Directors in their goals to integrate research themes, promote collaborations, introduce new methodologies and help train and advise individuals on research techniques, career paths, productive experimental designs and aspects of publication and review. It will be a catalytic stimulus for enhancing and promoting alcohol research at NCCU in collaboration with the experienced UNC-ARC faculty.